Commander

General John. E. Hyten

General John E. Hyten is Commander of U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM), one of 10 Unified Commands under the Department of Defense. USSTRATCOM is responsible for the global command and control of U.S. strategic forces to meet decisive national security objectives, providing a broad range of strategic capabilities and options for the President and Secretary of Defense.

Gen. Hyten attended Harvard University on an Air Force Reserve Officer's Training Corps scholarship, graduated in 1981 with a bachelor’s degree in engineering and applied sciences and was commissioned a second lieutenant. Gen. Hyten’s career includes assignments in a variety of space acquisition and operations positions. He served in senior engineering positions on both Air Force and Army anti-satellite weapon system programs.

The general’s staff assignments include tours with the Air Force Secretariat, the Air Staff, the Joint Staff and the Commander’s Action Group at Headquarters Air Force Space Command as Director. He served as mission director in Cheyenne Mountain and was the last active-duty commander of the 6th Space Operations Squadron at Offutt AFB, Neb. In 2006, he deployed to Southwest Asia as Director of Space Forces for operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. Gen. Hyten commanded the 595th Space Group and the 50th Space Wing at Schriever AFB, Colo. Prior to assuming command of Air Force Space Command, he served as the Vice Commander, Air Force Space Command.

MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Distinguished Service Medal with oak leaf cluster
Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster
Defense Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Meritorious Service Medal with four oak leaf clusters
Air Force Commendation Medal
Army Commendation Medal
Joint Service Achievement Medal
Air Force Achievement Medal

OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS
1991 Recipient of the William Jump Award for Excellence within the Federal Government
1998 Recipient of a Laurels Award, Aviation Week and Space Technology Magazine
2009 Gen. Jerome F. O’Malley Distinguished Space Leadership Award

PUBLICATIONS
“A Sea of Peace or a Theater of War: Dealing with the Inevitable Conflict in Space,” The Program in Arms Control, Disarmament, and International Security Occasional Paper, University of Illinois, 2000
“A Sea of Peace or a Theater of War,” Air and Space Power Journal, Air University Press, 2002
“Moral and Ethical Decisions Regarding Space Warfare,” with Dr. Robert Uy, Air and Space Power Journal, Air University Press, 2004